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Investors in the electric car maker convened this Thursday to vote on a substantial pay deal for the company's leader estimated at close to $1 trillion. Upon approval, this package would showcase investor confidence that the tech magnate can steer the car company into an age defined by AI technology and automation. If rejected, Tesla could risk the departure of a pioneering CEO who historically built the company name interchangeable with EVs.

Record-Breaking Milestones and Company Valuation

Upon reaching the ambitious targets detailed in the remuneration deal introduced at Tesla's annual meeting, he could become the pioneering trillionaire. To reach this goal, he must lead Tesla to a monumental $8.5 trillion in market capitalization, which is an eightfold increase its current valuation. Furthermore, he will be obligated to launch countless self-driving cars and bipedal machines, while maintaining the company's bottom line in the hundreds of billions of dollars throughout the coming ten years.

Compensation Structure

The main goals of the pay package, organized into 12 tranches, chart a trajectory for Tesla to achieve its enormous valuation. Should targets be met, Musk would be eligible to benefit from an further 12% of the firm's equity. To qualify, he must remain vested with the company for no less than 7.5 years. He will also contribute to forming a corporate transition roadmap for the business he has headed for over 20 years. The equity incentives provided by the updated remuneration deal, alongside shares assured in his previous compensation plan, would leave Musk with 25 percent equity of Tesla's shares. By the start of November, Tesla shares were valued approaching its annual peak, at approximately $450 per share.

Ambitious Targets

Over the course of a decade, Musk will be obligated to manufacture 20 million EVs to consumers, sell 10 million active full self-driving subscriptions, produce and launch 1 million advanced androids, and introduce 1 million autonomous taxis in paid operations.

Musk will additionally be required to elevate the company to $400 billion in real profits for four straight quarters. Tesla's real profits for the third quarter of 2025 were $4.2 billion, down 9% from the previous year.

By November, Musk's net worth was valued at $460 billion, the top in the planet, according to wealth indexes.

Reviving a Rescinded Deal

Stockholders are also evaluating a arrangement that would reward Musk after his earlier remuneration deal was overturned by a legal authority in Delaware. The compensation package, worth an estimated $56 billion, was disputed by a sole shareholder who succeeded legally. The Delaware judicial system dismissed Musk's pay package on two occasions. If shareholders approve the arrangement in Thursday's vote, Musk is likely to be granted the huge sum irrespective of whether Tesla and Musk overturn the ruling of the legal matter.

Following Musk's earlier remuneration deal was initially invalidated, he moved Tesla's corporate home to Texas from Delaware. He did the same with his aerospace company and other business entities. In 2024, according to Texas regulations, shareholders for a second time voted to approve the compensation plan.

But Delaware's so-called "judicial body" once again rejected one of the largest CEO compensation packages in modern history. Following that unfavorable ruling, Musk posted on his accounts to show frustration with the state and its "influential presiding justice", arguably sparking a wave of business departures that Delaware lawmakers have sought to curb with new laws.

In considering whether Musk had undue influence in being granted that previous compensation plan, a noted academic expert remarked that the judge recognized that other "celebrity leaders" like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and the Amazon founder were not awarded this sort of incentive-based contracts.